Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

We're in the middle of a climate and an extinction emergency and yet development keeps being approved in areas of significant environmental importance. In my home state of Queensland, the Toowoomba North South Transport Corridor proposes a transport route that will have adverse impacts on residents, on endangered wildlife, on First Nations heritage sites and on the environment generally. Only after a huge outcry from local residents and conservation groups, has the subpar two-week public consultation period been extended.

The Queensland Labor government has said that the corridor is necessary to futureproof Toowoomba's transport needs. Why is it that for the big parties the only solution to transport needs is yet another road? Toowoomba, like all regional Queensland cities, is crying out for a modern, frequent, accessible and affordable public transport network. Instead the government is proposing a road the design of which is flawed, the impacts of which on residents have not been properly considered and which will see known koala habitat bulldozed.

This government seems to think that turning up to photo events and cuddling koalas is enough to make up for its continuous approvals for development projects that destroy koala habitat. If you're serious about saving koalas, stop logging and bulldozing their homes. The Greens' Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Save the Koala) Bill would prevent developments that clear and degrade known koala habitat from going through without rigorous federal assessment. Any government that truly cares about protecting the environment would enforce stronger laws that protect our environment from the devastating impacts of poor development. I look forward to joining with Toowoomba locals to oppose this ill-considered proposal.